Author: lessig

Last week, we launched a campaign to raise the funds we need to bring an Equal Protection challenge to the winner-take-all system for allocating electoral college votes. Tons were really excited about the idea, and many have stepped up to help support it. That reaction was amazingly cool and I’m really grateful for the support. (It’s not too late — you can support us still!)

But there’s a particular kind of resistance that we should call out, and ask it to justify itself — call it, selective constitutionalism.

When I caught the story of the mass shooting yesterday (and yes, I know, in my country, we need to specify which mass shooting yesterday, so I mean the mass shooting of Republican congressmen in Virginia, not the one in San Francisco, or any of the other 154 that have happened so far this year), I immediately feared what turned out to be true — that some crazy had targeted a group of politicians because of their politics. And so saddened by all that meant, I tweeted an expression of condolence:

It seems increasingly clear that this impeachment thing is going to happen. I’ll confess, I’m terrified about the whole idea.

That’s not to say that I don’t believe Mr. Trump has committed impeachable offenses. After he was elected, I believed his refusal to comply with the Foreign Bribery Clause and the allegations surrounding Russia were sufficient grounds for an elector not to vote for him. His behavior since coming into office — again, the Foreign Bribery Clause, the obstruction charges, and now the careless burning of a foreign source by giving the Russians confidential material — I also believe easily meets the impeachment standard of our Constitution.